Posts in category

Infrastructure


When looking at the state of infrastructure in and around Johannesburg, one can immediately see that something is off, and I am not just talking about loadshedding.

Houselessness is one of the biggest issues we face in South Africa, and there are various reasons why people end up unhoused.

“In the 1970s, Ponte was the place to live in Johannesburg, which people here called the New York City of Africa.  It was on the edge of Hillbrow, a bustling, cosmopolitan neighbourhood of artists and intellectuals, where cafes and bookshops stayed open late and where, even under the tight rule of apartheid, interracial mixing was common.” – Stephen Hanes, Christian Science Monitor, 2008.

Kliptown is a suburb located 25 kilometers south of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa.

On 30 November 2022, we visited the Waterpan area under the guidance of the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA WAMUA Advice Office).

Although the area is notorious for violence and assassinations, there are many residents working together to make it a better place.

“Where else should we go?” were the words of one of the homeless after the Ekurhuleni Metro closed all the openings the homeless use to enter the grounds around the area in Germiston.

People have been applying for RDP houses since 1996 and some have been waiting for houses since then until now.